The thousands of children who have received Christmas gifts over the years thanks to The Salvation Army and the Neediest Families Fund may have never met George Grimshaw or Irene Gudewicz.

SARAH GONET

The thousands of children who have received Christmas gifts over the years thanks to The Salvation Army and the Neediest Families Fund may have never met George Grimshaw or Irene Gudewicz.

Yet, they owe the two philanthropists a huge debt of thanks.

The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Foundation has donated more than $150,000 to the Neediest Families Fund and has given more than $16 million to a wide variety of charitable organizations and causes since its creation in 1995. Last year alone, the foundation awarded $1.2 million to a host of causes around New England, many of them right here in SouthCoast, including a $12,000 gift to the Neediest Families Fund.

"Each year, the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Foundation provides a gift that represents a key cornerstone for our annual Neediest Families Fund campaign," said Mary Harrington, publisher of SouthCoast Media Group, which includes The Standard-Times, SouthCoastToday.com and Hathaway Publishing. "The foundation's generosity is an inspiration, and all the more meaningful given the powerful story of its founders. The late Mr. Grimshaw has been described as a 'natural engineer' — a self-made man whose intellect, commitment to hard work and entrepreneurial courage transformed his life. Now his and Ms. Gudewicz's Foundation, under the trustees' guardianship, gives our neediest children something that surely changes their lives — by ensuring them gifts at the holidays — as well."

Grimshaw, who died in 1995, was well known throughout the local business community for achieving considerable success through hard work and perseverance.

Upon graduating from New Bedford High School, Grimshaw went to work for the Continental Screw Co. in New Bedford as a night shift errand boy. He was soon promoted to foreman.

It was at Continental Screw that he met Irene Gudewicz, a woman with considerable business savvy of her own who would become his lifelong companion and business partner. In 1933, during the depths of the Great Depression, the pair started Grim-Grip, a fastener manufacturer in New Bedford.

In 1950, the business was sold, with Stillwater Fasteners in East Freetown being their next business venture.

"They were quite a team. George grew up in New Bedford and never forgot where he came from," recalled Anne Fazendeiro, a longtime employee of Grimshaw who now serves on the foundation's five-member Board of Trustees. She recalled that Grimshaw was raised by his mother, a school teacher and single parent.

"He was a very quiet, reserved person who cared deeply about his employees and the community. He was a distinguished man who treated the people around him well. He was such a good man."

While Grimshaw and Gudewicz moved from Dartmouth to Petersborough, N.H., upon retirement, they never forgot their local roots.

"They had a commitment to this community, even after they no longer lived here," said Fazendeiro, a New Bedford resident.

The pair focused on myriad philanthropic activities during their retirement, including education, historical preservation, medical research and the arts.

Grimshaw survived Gudewicz; he died on Feb. 28, 1995. It was on this date that the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Foundation became effective.

"Funding from the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Foundation has benefited so many nonprofits in the New Bedford and Fall River communities," said Kate Corkum, executive director of the Rotch-Jones Duff House & Garden Museum.

"We have been able to direct funding from the foundation to enhance and expand programming for both school students and the community at large. It has been an integral part of our programming budget each year."

The list of the foundation's beneficiaries over the years is lengthy, including Brown University, UMass Dartmouth, WHALE, the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, Bristol Community College, the New Bedford Whaling Museum, the Zeiterion Theatre, Freetown Historical Society, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Lloyd Center for the Environment, several SouthCoast high schools and Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, N.H., among many others.

"(Grimshaw) came from a humble start and achieved a lot in his lifetime. In a lot of ways, he's a role model for these kids," said Maureen Sylvia, senior development officer for the New Bedford Boys & Girls Club, which received grant support from the foundation to update its facilities and start a teen center. "In terms of planting a seed of philanthropy for the future, there's no greater example than this."